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Subjective burden of family caregivers with Turkish immigration background in Germany

Validation of the Turkish version of the Burden Scale for Family Caregivers

Subjektive Belastung pflegender Angehöriger mit türkischem Migrationshintergrund in Deutschland

Validierung der türkischsprachigen Fassung der Häusliche-Pflege-Skala

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Abstract

Background

Subjective burden is a central variable for describing the situation of family caregivers. Up to now the subjective burden of family caregivers with Turkish immigration background in Germany has not been quantitatively investigated.

Objectives

The aim of this study was the validation of the Turkish version of the Burden Scale for Family Caregivers (BSFCtr).

Material and methods

In order to measure the subjective burden of family caregivers with Turkish immigration background, the BSFC was translated into Turkish. The internal consistency of the 28-item BSFCtr was calculated using Cronbach’s alpha. The difficulty indices and discriminating powers of the items were analyzed. The construct validity was examined by using three hypotheses of association.

Results

The cross-sectional study was conducted on 49 family caregivers with a Turkish immigration background in Germany who care for older, chronically ill persons. Cronbach’s alpha for the total scale was 0.89. The caregiver burden was greater when the care recipient had substantial regular nursing care needs and when the spouse or partner had assumed the care as compared with the children or children-in-law. Caregiver burden significantly increased with the extent of psychosomatic symptoms of the caregiver.

Conclusion

The Turkish version of the BSFC proved to be a reliable and valid measure for determining the subjective burden of family caregivers.

Zusammenfassung

Hintergrund

Die subjektive Belastung ist eine wichtige Variable, mit der die Situation pflegender Angehöriger charakterisiert wird. Bisher ist die subjektive Belastung pflegender Angehöriger mit türkischem Migrationshintergrund in Deutschland nicht quantitativ untersucht worden.

Zielsetzung

Ziel der Studie war es, die türkischsprachige Fassung der Häusliche-Pflege-Skala (HPStr) zu validieren.

Material und Methoden

Um die subjektive Belastung pflegender Angehöriger mit türkischem Migrationshintergrund erfassen zu können, wurde die HPS ins Türkische übersetzt. Zur Bestimmung der internen Konsistenz der 28-Item-Version der HPStr wurde Cronbachs Alpha berechnet. Der Schwierigkeitsgrad und die Trennschärfe der Items wurden analysiert. Auf der Grundlage von drei Zusammenhangshypothesen wurde die Konstruktvalidität untersucht.

Ergebnisse

An der Querschnittstudie nahmen 49 pflegende Angehörige mit türkischem Migrationshintergrund teil, die in Deutschland eine ältere, chronisch kranke Person pflegten. Cronbachs Alpha der Gesamtskala betrug 0,89. Die subjektive Belastung der pflegenden Angehörigen war größer, wenn der pflegebedürftigen Person eine Pflegestufe zugeordnet war. Hatte ein (Ehe-)Partner die Pflege übernommen, war die Belastung im Vergleich zur häuslichen Pflege durch Kinder oder Schwiegerkinder ebenfalls größer. Die subjektive Belastung korrelierte positiv mit dem Ausmaß der psychosomatischen Beschwerden der pflegenden Angehörigen.

Schlussfolgerung

Die HPStr erwies sich als ein reliables und valides Instrument zur Erfassung der subjektiven Belastung türkischstämmiger pflegender Angehöriger.

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Acknowledgement

The authors thank the family caregivers for participation in the study and also express their gratitude to the managers of the outpatient nursing institutions who assisted in recruiting the study population. The authors also thank the English language translator Ms. Deirdre Winter and the language editor Dr. Jane Zagorski.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center of Excellence for Epidemiology and Health Services Research for Healthcare Professionals (CVcare), University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), Martinistraße 52, 20246, Hamburg, Germany

    N. Ulusoy M.Sc.

  2. Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany

    N. Ulusoy M.Sc.

  3. Centre of Health Services Research in Medicine, Department for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Friedrich‑Alexander‑Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany

    E. Graessel

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  1. N. Ulusoy M.Sc.
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  2. E. Graessel
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Correspondence to N. Ulusoy M.Sc..

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Conflict of interest

N. Ulusoy and E. Graessel state that there are no conflicts of interest.

The study was carried out in accordance with the procedure approved by the Ethics Committee of the Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nürnberg. All procedures were carried out in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975 (in its most recently amended version). Informed consent was obtained from all patients included in the study.

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Ulusoy, N., Graessel, E. Subjective burden of family caregivers with Turkish immigration background in Germany. Z Gerontol Geriat 50, 339–346 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00391-016-1044-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00391-016-1044-y

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